Sears Wants to Make a Difference

Marriage is under attack in more ways than one. When we think of marriage being under attack we generally think of same-sex marriage and the fight to protect the traditional family and definition of marriage. But that is not the only fight going on.

For example, it has been reported by Citizenlink that nearly 750,000 Georgians get divorced each year. This costs the taxpayers nearly 1.5 billion dollars per year.

The fight for marriage extends to every state, town, and home in America. But this is a fight that some refuse to give up fighting.

“Accepting divorce and unmarried childbearing as inevitable means giving up on many of our children,” said Georgia Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears. “We can make a difference for this generation.”

And to help in the fight, Justice Sears and a local Commission she helped to start and currently chairs, has begun a billboard ad campaign. The billboards, about a dozen throughout the state, advertise the message “Get Married, Stay Married,” in big bold letters with appropriate pictures.

Justice Sears has gained attention for recent remarks concerning her experience as a judge. She told several news outlets, “I have witnessed firsthand what happens to children who do not grow up in healthy, intact families.”

Justice Sears went on to elaborate on what she has ‘seen’ in her time as a Georgia state judge in an interview with Citizenlink.

“Whether caused by divorce, or couples who have children out of wedlock, then drift apart, or even deliberate single parenthood, more and more children are growing up without their fathers. This is a tragedy because growing up without a father can be a major disadvantage for a child. More children raised in single-mother households are poor, for example. And many suffer from poor academic achievement, low self-esteem, psychological distress, substance abuse, sexual precociousness, adult criminal offending and depression.” (Click here for the full interview.)

More support for the affects of single-parent homes on children has been found by The Heritage Foundation, where senior researcher Robert Rector recently concluded after a study that,

“Young people who are raise by married, biological mother and father do better in life, from delaying sexual activity to being more likely to have successful marriages themselves, avoiding crime, graduating from college.” (Click here for the full article.)

We hear constantly about protecting our children, giving our children the best, doing everything we can in the interest of the children, the child’s well-being. Yet many have overlooked the one fundamental aspect to a child’s development that could divert so many problems later in life: a mom and dad who love them.

I know it’s not politically correct to state that a child needs both a mom and dad who love them in their life, with all the feminists and homosexuals who are certain they can do the job just as well. But if we are honest and realistic we would see that history has shown us the opposite to be true.

Children need to see the example of a loving father and mother in order to learn how to properly relate to the opposite sex, and to learn how to be in a loving, committed relationship. And with as much compassion and humility as I can convey, I believe that the absolute best environment and example to develop these skills is found in a home with a biological mother and father.

I can’t help but agree with Justice Sears when she said, “Marriage is the most pro-child institution we have.”